TF hailed for hitting 40M administered Covid-19 jabs
(File photo)
MANILA – The Department of Tourism (DOT) on Thursday praised the country's pandemic task force for reaching 40,030,388 in total doses administered as of September 15.
Based on the latest data from the National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19, a total of 22,354,429 have received their first dose while the remaining 17,675,959 have been fully vaccinated.
"The DOT commends the government's NTF against Covid-19 and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) for its successful vaccination efforts to combat the spread of the dreaded novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the country," the DOT said in a statement.
"Among the early beneficiaries of the Covid-19 jabs are our tourism workers serving on the frontline since the pandemic erupted last year," it added.
To date, over 51 percent of the country's active tourism workers population or 126,097 out of 245,338 workers from hotels, tourism enterprises and tourism support services have been inoculated.
From this number, 41,856 are assigned in DOT-accredited hotels and accommodation establishments, and other tourism enterprises and support services, including accredited restaurants in the National Capital Region.
"These numbers speak for the hard work that our officials have put in to be able to achieve herd immunity before Christmas, as reunions, especially among Filipino families, are being anticipated every year," the agency said.
"As more vaccines arrive, we encourage everyone to get their vaccination already. The recovery of tourism depends on its safe re-opening," it added.
Metro Manila has registered the most number of vaccinated tourism workers at 94 percent, followed by the Davao Region with 88 percent, and the Cordillera Administrative Region with 80 percent.
Tourism front-liners classified under A1 priority group are those working in accommodation establishments temporarily operating as quarantine hotels or isolation facilities, while those under A4 category are workers in other tourism enterprises and tourism support services.
The DOT has reiterated its commitment to exhaust all efforts to vaccinate the remaining tourism workers in the country to restore more jobs as local travel gradually resumes.
"Maraming padating na bakuna so at least mas maraming mapapabakunahan. We want to vaccinate everybody and nagfo-focus na kami sa iba't ibang tourist destinations like Cebu (There are more vaccines to arrive so at least we get to inoculate more. We want to vaccinate everybody and we're now focusing in other tourist destinations like Cebu)," Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said. (PNA)